滑鐵盧戰役

社會階級(class,social)

在同一社會中擁有相同社會經濟地位的人群。該術語隨著18世紀晚期的工業和政治革命而在19世紀初期得到廣泛應用。關於階級的最具影響力的早期理論是馬克思的理論，他集中討論了一個階級如何控制和指導生產過程，而別的階級則作為統治階級的直接生產者和服務的提供者存在的理論。在這一理論指導下，階級之間的關係被視為對抗性的。而韋伯（M. Weber）則強調保持階級差別以保障政治權力、社會地位和階級聲望的重要性。儘管階級理論存在分歧，但對於階級在現代資本主義社會中的特點卻有基本一致的觀點。上層階級因擁有大量的繼承遺產（在美國，30%以上的財富集中在1%的財產擁有者手中，而2/3以上的財富集中在5%的人口手中）而與別的階級相區別。工人階級主要由手工勞動者和飲食、服務業的工人組成，他們只掙取中等或少量的工資，極少有機會繼承財產。中產階級則包括中等及上等執事人員，主要有技術和專業人員、管理人員、經理和自由職業者（如小型商店主、商人和農場主等）。下層階級則包括長期處於失業狀態、居住在城市周邊的工人。參閱bourgeoisie。

English version：

class,social

Group of people within a society who possess the same socioeconomic status. The term was first widely used in the early 19th century,following the industrial and political revolutions of the late 18th century. The most influential early theory of class was that of Karl Marx,who focused on how one class controls and directs the process of production while other classes are the direct producers and the providers of services to the dominant class. The relations between the classes were thus seen as antagonistic. Max Weber emphasized the importance of political power and social status or prestige in maintaining class distinctions. Despite controversies over the theory of class,there is general agreement on the characteristics of the classes in modern capitalist societies. The upper class is distinguished above all by the possession of largely inherited wealth (in the U.S.,more than 30% of all wealth is concentrated in the hands of the top 1% of property owners,and nearly two-thirds in the top 5%). The working class consists mostly of manual laborers and food- and service-industry workers who earn moderate or low wages and have little or no access to inherited wealth. The middle class includes the middle and upper levels of clerical workers,those engaged in technical and professional occupations,supervisors and managers,and such self-employed workers as small-scale shopkeepers,businesspeople,and farmers. There is also often an urban substratum of permanently jobless and underemployed workers termed the underclass. See also bourgeoisie.